Female-produced sex pheromones in moths (Lepidoptera) are normally complex mixtures of straight chain acetates, aldehydes, and alcohols, with 10-18 carbon atoms and up to three unsaturations. This group of pheromones, Type I according to Ando's classification (Ando et al., Top Curr Chem 239:51-96 (2004)) comprises ca. 75% of the known pheromones. A second major group, Type II (15%) (Ando et al., Top Curr Chem 239:51-96 (2004)) consists of polyunsaturated (up to four double bonds) hydrocarbons and epoxy derivatives with long straight chain (C17-C23) (Ando et al., Top Curr Chem 239:51-96 (2004)). While Type I pheromones are synthesized de novo (Ando et al., Top Curr Chem 239:51-96 (2004); Jurenka, R., Top Curr Chem 239:97-132 (2004)), polyunsaturated hydrocarbons seem to be derived from dietary linoleic and linolenic acid (Jurenka, R., Top Curr Chem 239:97-132 (2004); Ando et al., Top Curr Chem 239:51-96 (2004)).
The major constituent of the sex pheromones of two species in the family Pyralidae, the navel orangeworm, Amyelois transitella Walker (subfamily: Phycitinae) (Coffelt et al., J Chem Ecol 5:955-966 (1979)) and the meal moth, Pyralis farinalis Linnaeus (subfamily: Pyralinae) (Landolt, P. J. and Curtis, C. E., J Kansas Entomol Soc 55:248-252 (1982)) has been previously identified as (Z,Z)-11,13-hexadecadienal belonging to Type I (Ando et al., Top Curr Chem 239:51-96 (2004)). It has been suggested that additional pheromone components may be present in the female navel orangeworm moths (Shorey, H H., Gerber, R. G., Environ Entomol 25:1154-1157 (1996)), but hitherto conventional approaches have failed to identify the full pheromone system. The present invention addresses these and other needs.